HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wow what a night! We had a great time at the block party, listening to live music and catching up with friends. After I stuffed Nate into his costume (I guess their 2Ts run a little small or our little man isn't as little as we thought!) we headed out for a night of trick or treating. He caught on to the concept VERY fast and in no time, was letting go of my hand and running up to the houses to see what goodies they would throw in his bucket. Ok, so we let him have a few pieces of candy....3 M&Ms and 3 Smarties, but let me tell you, when they're not used to sugar, that's enough to wind them up. Our church donated hotdogs for grilling and there was no shortage of "eats". Nate was running around and having a great time. I felt much more relaxed this year compared to last! Hope you all had a fun night!

Our first stop...the next door neighbor's house

Getting in the groove!

The band...they played for one of our adoption fundraisers last year too.

Our friend's daughter (aka Sarah Palin) dancing with Nate

TRICK OR TREATS!

We have a Halloween block party to go to tonight so Nate helped me make cookies to bring. He had a great time, although he got a little carried away and pounded the dough to death with the cookie cutters! haha! Nate's dressing up as a ninja tonight and I'll post more photos after the party.

Thank you Renee for the awesome glow in the dark Halloween tee! I showed Nate how it glows and he said "Oh, woooooww!"

MY FIRST PUMPKIN

NATE'S ARTISTIC TALENT

This is Nate's first craft. He's got that Picasso look going!

NATE AND THE STICK BUG

Once upon a time, there was a lonely stick bug.....

Until one day, he met a boy named Nate.

Nate had never seen such a strange looking creature.

He cautiously peered at the bug, who cautiously peered back at him.

Finally, Nate got brave and slowly reached out a finger to touch the lonely stick bug.

Then dad put the bug outside before Harvard could eat it. Poor lonely stick bug.

NATE'S DAY OFF

Well ok...mom and dad's day off. LOL. This morning we had a great breakfast at Crooked Tree Golf Course. I love the golf course restaurants because they have big windows with great views. If we didn't have gale force winds today, it would've been awesome to eat outside on the patio. This is small golf course with a diner-esq type restaurant...very cozy and a great place for breakfast. They didn't have a kids menu and I think he was the first kid to ever use the one and only highchair they had! Nate had a huge meal (adult size meal) of eggs, hashbrowns, and toast. This kid can pack it away. We usually don't give him snacks because he eats so much at mealtime. Usually I share with him but I wanted french toast and we don't allow him to have an entire b.fast with syrup (can you say "speed racer" after all that sugar??) Needless to say, he had a small lunch of 1/2 a sandwich and raw broccoli (with a super awesome dip from El Torito called "Cilantro Pepita Ceasar"..YUM...he totally scarfed it down and wouldn't let a drop be wasted!) Plus I took him to the mall playground to work off his breakfast. I guess I need to do the same after the french toast I ate. ha!

MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY

Every October, is national Make a Difference Day. People all over the U.S. get together to help others. This year, we went with a group to help people in a neighborhood who couldn't meet their HOA requirements (elderly, handicapped, single parents, etc). We've worked in this neighborhood before and it was so awesome to join people from our church, people from the neighborhood who like to help out, etc. One couple, we just met at a park the day before. It was funny to run into them and say, "Hey! I know you!" Even Nate helped out. Of course there are limits to what a 2 yr old can do but we want to teach him that you're never too young to help others. He loaded up rocks in buckets, helped stack rocks on a slope, swept, pulled weeds, picked up trash. What a trooper! He was so excited to help and the workers gladly let him participate even if it meant slowing down the pace for a little while. He worked so hard that he ate an entire sandwich (instead of his usual half), a lunch bag of Cheerios, several chips and bites of an apple..plus all the water he drank! Then he crashed for the entire afternoon. We finished 5 houses that day and got to meet several awesome people and homeowners. Of course, every day should be an opportunity to make a difference, but this is a great way to start and get involved. You can find out more about Make a Difference Day at: MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY

I GIVE UP

Well, I finally gave in and did it.....I made a schedule for myself and Nate and stuck it on our fridge. Believe me, I have been protesting this for the last year, thinking I could keep everything in my head and it would all magically work out (esp since I work from home). The last few weeks, I haven't got anything done..except looking at Facebook and emails. What a life! I was getting frustrated and depressed, Nate was frustrated and crankier so I finally admitted I have a scheduling problem. "Hi, my name is Denise and I have a scheduling problem." There, I said it. I just hated the idea of being a "slave" to certain time constraints....or so I thought.

It's amazing how much more I accomplish with my new schedule (ya think?@!) and how much more compliant Nate is. I just started using it this week and so far, so good. Here's what I hashed out.....

6:45am-7:15am: Bible Study, prayer, personal time
7:15-7:45: Nate-breakfast and dressed
7:45-8:15: Nate/Denise excercise
8:15-8:30: Storytime
8:30-9:30: Nate-Room Time/ Denise-Computer & Office Time
9:30-10:00: Nate/Denise-Do dishes/laundry, vacuum, etc.
10:00-11:00: Nate-Structured Play, Storytime or Playground Play/ Denise: Clean house, run errands, etc.
11:30-12:00: Nate-Free Play/ Denise-Make lunch
12:00-12:30: Lunch
12:30-1:00: Nate-Watch show/ Denise: Pay bills or office stuff
1:00-2:00: Mom Time/Learning Time
2:00-4:30: Nate-nap/ Denise-Art
4:30-5:30: Take walk, Mom and Dad Time, Fix Dinner
5:30-6:00: Dinner
6:00-7:30: Free Play, Dad Time, Family Time
7:30-8:00: Get Nate ready for bed (story, songs, teeth, bath)

So this is supposed to keep me relatively sane....
...........I hope!

BEING 2

It's much more fun to watch a show on dad's back!


This is what Nate likes to do with his Little Golden Books. He was very mad about having his picture taken! Never disturb a master at work.


Lookin' cool in his beret


Where'd he go??


There he is!

STORYTIME

I've been wanting to introduce Nate to more toddler events besides the playgrounds. Today I took him to storytime at our library. It was a lot of fun and he had a good time but I also see areas that I need to work with him. I realized that every time he's around other kids, it's always play time...running everywhere at his leisure. We walked into storytime and it was obvious the other kids were used to going. They were sitting or standing with their moms or sitting up front listening to the story. Nate, on the other hand, did not know how to join in on the songs and hand motions and started wandering...obviously not very interested in the storyteller (and she was good too!)

I tried to redirect him to participate but it was like trying to nail down jello! Finally, by the end of storytime, he began participating in the hand motions and songs. On one song we all had to get in a circle and walk, hop, run. He got so excited when it was time to run that he forgot to stop when the song said "Stop!" So he was yelling "WHEEEEEEE!!" and ran smack into the mom in front of us! I busted up laughing, it was so funny.

This week I've decided to have a story/song time every day, during the library storytime hours. Hopefully that will help Nate realize that there's a time to focus and a time to play. Right now, he thinks it's always play time when he's with other kids because that's all he knows. I know he can do it...he just needs to be taught. He also needs to be taught to share. We try to keep on top of this but it's hard. He thinks every toy he's playing with is his and his only. If another child tries to play with it, he snatches it away. I know this is part of the 2's realm and eventually, he'll get it.

I'm glad I went today because it really helped me to see what Nate needs to be learning and what he's capable of. He can now count to 10 and is starting to learn his ABC's. Fun times..ha!

FUN ON THE FARM

What an awesome day! This morning we headed out to Apple Annie's Orchard in Wilcox. Actually they have one location for the orchard and the other for the produce and pumpkin patch, which is where we went. Nate had a great time. He wanted to do everything dad was doing...picking the vegetables, cutting the pumpkins off the vine and INSISTED on pushing the cart everywhere. He never got tired either...this kid is strong! Lots of photos below...I couldn't choose!